The Rest of the World
by LinleyHamilton123
Summary: Hermione's eyes widened. Yet Draco didn't look mean, merely casual and faintly amused. "Would you really want to be seen with a mudblood?" she said sharply, gaining a bit more confidence now that she knew Draco wasn't here just to laugh at her for being petrified.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, Hermione, Draco, or anything else of any concern.

So I love this story! Really, there's usually something I don't like about a story I wrote (and this is my NINETY-FIFTH so I should know LOL...) but I LOVE this story for once. I hope you like it too!

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Hermione Granger stood outside of the hospital wing, taking in the would around her. Though she naturally couldn't remember anything after she'd seen the Basilisk in the mirror, it felt like she hadn't seen the would in ages, which, of course, was true.

"Are you coming to the feast?" Penelope Clearwater asked. She, too, had just emerged from the hospital wing. Though Hermione had never met Penelope before the day they'd both been petrified, she felt like they, and Justin and Colin, shared something.

"Yeah," Hermione said softly. "You go on ahead. I-I'll be here a minute."

Penelope smiled and waved halfheartedly, trotting off almost excitedly towards the Great Hall. Hermione, however, was not particularly excited. When she thought of the whole school, people who she hadn't seen in ages, it didn't sound very welcoming.

"Hey, Granger," someone said. She jumped and spun around to see Draco Malfoy coming up the hall by himself.

While he didn't look very threatening, Hermione was weary of trouble, and she barely looked at him. "Why are you talking to a mudblood?"

Draco shrugged, half-smiling. "I don't know. I figured you'd just be getting woken up and I thought I'd see. But why aren't you walking to the feast? It's in a couple of minutes."

"I know," Hermione said sharply, avoiding his eyes. "I'm going."

"What are you doing then?" Draco asked, wearing a sort of all-knowing expression. "Are you scared to go see the school after months of being all away in solitude?"

Hermione bit her lip and stared at him. "What do you know?" she said as harshly as she could. "Why are you even here?"

Draco grinned. "I figured you'd be. People've been talking about you enough, anyone would be nervous. Do you want to walk there with me?"

Hermione's eyes widened. Yet Draco didn't look mean, merely casual and faintly amused. "Would you really want to be seen with a mudblood?" she said sharply, gaining a bit more confidence now that she knew Draco wasn't here just to laugh at her for being petrified.

"As long as I don't go IN with you, I doubt anyone will notice," Draco said flatly. "But hurry up, it's almost time for the feast."

Hermione started to turn him down, but she thought of waking through the blank castle by herself, and she sighed. "Thanks," she said softly. "I guess that would be okay."

"Great," Draco said grinning. He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, towards the stairs and then towards the sounds of plates clattering and people talking.

Hermione didn't even object to this, as she heard the taking she imagined all the people and it terrified her. Draco seemed to understand, but he didn't say anything.

When they reached the doors, Hermione took a deep breath and smiled slightly at Draco. "Thanks," she said again. "Really."

"You're welcome," said Draco, laughing. "Go on, then."

He held open the door, and at that moment she spotted Harry and Ron. Instantly, her fear was washed away. She was back. But before she turned to run to them, she turned back to Draco. "It was nice of you to do this for me," she said. "You actually did something nice."

Draco winked at her. "Go figure," he said. "And good luck."

She smiled back, truly sincere. Then she turned and ran to her friends, the sound of talking and laughing filling her up. She was glad to be back.

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Did you like it? I hope so!

Please review! Five more stories to go before my hundredth, I'm so excited! What do you think I should do for my hundredth story?

Linley =)


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